Four board members of Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) have resigned over the past week according to the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, after continuing controversy at the organisation which oversees paediatric healthcare in the country.
The Minister told RTE’S News at One that three voluntary members of the CHI has resigned this morning, while another board member resigned last week.
She said that Dr Gavin Lavery, Brigid McManus and Catherine Guy resigned this morning and that last week another board member, Mary Cryan, had resigned.
“These would be individuals who have worked on the board, worked in volunteer capacity on the board since 2018 and who have provided a very strong service,” the Minister said. said.
Dr Lavery is a former ICU physician and is president of the intensive care society of Ireland. Ms McManus is a former secretary-general at the Department of Education and Skills, while Ms Cryan is a former employer member of the Labour Court and former director with the Brown Thomas Group.
Ms Guy is currently chief executive of NiftiBusiness and a was previously managing partner of ByrneWallace Law Firm in Dublin.
The Minister told RTÉ’s News at One that she had not asked the board members to resign as she did not have the authority to do so – but also said she had “made it clear that I have strong questions about the governance of CHI and its direction towards the future”.
“This is something that I’ve referenced a number of times in the Dáil and I’ve said that very clearly: we need to have a functional governance structure to enable us to get to the opening of the children’s hospital and to deal with the very many issues in children’s health.“
“I have a different relationship with the CHI board in statute than any other minister really has with most other boards. It is an unusual structure and I don’t have the authority to ask people to step down in the way that you normally might expect.
“I do recognise that there have been resignations this morning and I want to thank those people for the service that they have given to the public because we recognise that these are voluntary positions. And we’re asking people to step out of their other lives to perform a public service,” she said.
CHI has governance over children’s hospitals at Temple Street, Crumlin and Tallaght, and is involved with the new National Children’s Hospital. A number of controversies have dogged the organisation in recent times including waiting times for children with scoliosis and the implantation of unapproved springs into children with the condition, and a report which found systems in CHI did not always protect children from harm.